South Vietnam
:This country is a part of Altverse. ) République du Vietnam ( ) |motto = Tổ quốc - Danh dự - Trách nhiệm ( : "Fatherland – Honor – Duty") |national_anthem = ( : "Call to the Citizens") |royal_anthem = |capital = |largest_city = |official_languages = , |regional_languages = |demonym = South Vietnamese |government_type = |leader_title1 = President |leader_name1 = Pham Dương |leader_title2 = Vice President |leader_name2 = Tien Văn Thiệu |legislature = Congress |upper_house = Senate |lower_house = House of Representatives |established_event1 = |established_date1 = July 20, 1954 |established_event2 = |established_date2 = October 26, 1955 |population = 63,484,210 |population_census_year = 2010 |population_census_rank = 20th |GDP_PPP = $1.56 trillion |GDP_PPP_year = 2014 |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $33,381 |currency = |currency_code = SVD |time_zone = |utc_offset = +7 |utc_offset_DST = +7 |date_format = yyyy/mm/dd |drives_on = right |cctld = .vn |image_flag = Flag of South Vietnam.svg |image_map = South Vietnam.png|image_coat = Emblem of South Vietnam.png}} The Republic of Vietnam ( : Việt Nam Cộng Hòa, : République du Vietnam), commonly referred to as South Vietnam, is a country situated in and constituting the southern part of the nation. South Vietnam shares land borders with North Vietnam to the north, and to the west, overseas borders with the and the to the east, and overseas borders with to the south. South Vietnam is a ranking 18th in the just after Korea and in the region. Much of its economic development and prosperity can be attributed to its history as a . With the over, South Vietnam initially suffered repressive military regimes before normalizing and industrializing in the late 70s. South Vietnam's economy experienced up to 20% growth, a phenomenon dubbed the "Miracle of the " (similar to Korea's ). Today, South Vietnam boasts one of the fastest growing economies and is a member of , , the League of Nations, the Trans-Pacific Allied Community, and . Etymology The name Việt Nam derives from the Vietnamese pronunciation of the word, " " (Chinese: 南越; pinyin: Nányuè) which if literally translated, meant "Southern Việt" (Nam Việt in Vietnamese). Nanyue refers to the ancient Vietnamese kingdom ruled under the in the 2nd century BC. The word Việt is the shortened form of the word , a Vietnamized version of the Chinese word "Bǎiyuè" (Chinese: 百越). The Baiyue was used by the Chinese to refer to people living in southern China and Vietnam. The name "Vietnam" came into official use by Vietnamese officials under Emperor and later revived by anti-colonial revolutionaries such as (who wrote the ). For the first half of the 20th century, the term Annam was used by outsiders to refer Vietnam. Following the , both governments of South and North Vietnam officially adopted the term Việt Nam. History Before the division Early Vietnam Vietnamese history dates as far back to the age. Archaeological excavations and findings suggest that the first humans were those of the species with fossils found dating around 500,000 BC. Fossils and isolated teeth from have been found and dated back to the period. The first known civilization in Vietnam to have emerged was the in 1000 BC. The Đông Sơn developed rice cultivation and casting and are known for their unique . Early Vietnamese kingdoms including and came into existence and had cultural influence in the region. Dynastic Vietnam The first Vietnamese state, Văn Lang, was ruled under the dynasty of the . The Kingdom of Âu Lạc came into power following the defeat of the last Hùng king in 257 BC by Thục Phán (who became known as ). Fifty years following the establishment of Âu Lạc, , a Chinese general, invaded Vietnam and defeated An Dương Vương transferring power to . In 111 BC the Han-Nanyue war resulted in Nanyue being absorbed into the Chinese Han dynasty empire. For the next millenia, Vietnam would remain under Chinese rule although experienced brief periods of independence (first from the and , and later as under the between AD 544 and 602) were seen. Great autonomy was granted to Vietnam by the Chinese under the around the early 10th century. While northern Vietnam was dominated by the Chinese, South Vietnam was dominated by the and in the first half of the millennium who were ethnically and respectively. These kingdoms were neither native to the region nor ethnically Vietnamese. In AD 938, Vietnamese lord granted Vietnam independence from the Chinese following the . Renamed Đại Việt (Great Viet), Ngô Quyền's rule was short-lived following his untimely death and Vietnam plummeted into a known as the " " (Loạn Thập Nhị Sứ Quân). The war ended in 968 following the victory of who established the , proclaimed himself Đinh Tiên Hoàng (Đinh the First Emperor), and moved the Vietnamese capital to the city of . After Đinh's assassination, Vietnam experienced a golden age under the rule of the and dynasties. The latter successfully repelled three invasions although became a to the Mongol in an attempt to prevent renewed aggression. In addition, the Trần dynasty followed the policy of ("southward expansion") which had Vietnamese troops seize control of Cham territory. Exhausted by war, the Trần dynasty was overthrown by one of its officials, , who established the and brought sweeping, progressive reforms to the government. In 1406, the Chinese invaded Vietnam, starting the , under the pretense that it was going to restore the Trần dynasty. The lasted for twenty years before Vietnamese independence was restored under the . Under the Lê dynasty, Vietnam experienced the peak of its dynastic power under the rule of Emperor . Nam tiến was reintroduced as a policy and Vietnam successfully made new territorial gains in southern Vietnam from Champa and the at the cost of wiping out the Cham civilization. Political strife and infighting characterized 16th century Vietnam. In addition, Vietnam received more exposure from the West with French arriving to preach the word of . Trade routes were established with limited success yet European domination would not be felt in Vietnam for another century. The (which had political support from China) challenged the rule of the Lê dynasty. While the Lê dynasty managed to defeat the Mạc dynasty, its power was greatly weakened with the rise of the from the northern provinces and the from the south. The two groups engaged in a civil war (the ) but by the end of it, the Nguyễn lords were able to secure more territorial gains from the Khmer Empire. The war ended with both sides signing a truce, effectively dividing the Vietnamese nation into two separate areas. A hundred years, later the country was reunified under a new dynasty led by the . However the last Nguyễn lords led by with French support managed to establish the last Vietnamese dynasty in the form of the . French Indochina Vietnamese sovereignty came to an end following the French military conquests of . In 1862, southern Vietnam became part of the French territory of and by 1884, the entire country was under the control of the French. Under France, Vietnam experienced significant political and cultural changes. A Western-styled education was implemented and was heavily encouraged. Many citizens from France, moved to Saigon and established churches and French language schools. Developing a , the French government largely ignored the demands and needs of the Vietnamese people. Vietnamese nationalism became a growing political movement with the likes of , , , Emperor , and future North Vietnamese leader . Into the 20th century, the French state continued to maintain complete control over Vietnam until broke out and the Vietnam. The Japanese the French and established the short-lived . During Japanese rule, various atrocities were committed with the (resulting in 2 million deaths) the most famous case of Japanese brutality in the region. Following the defeat of the Japanese and the signing of the , Vietnam was to be returned to the hands of the French but the seized control over the northern city of and proclaimed a provisional government. France attempted to regain control, starting the but following the French defeat at the 1954 , Viet Minh leader was able to negotiate a ceasefire. At the , it was agreed upon that the French colonial regime in Vietnam would end and that Vietnam would be divided into two states: the communist North and capitalist South. After the division The Geneva Conference's decision to divide Vietnam in half was not intended to be a permanent solution. Instead, the conference declared that Vietnam be reunited by the 1956 through democratically-held elections. The was marked with the which served as the border between North and South Vietnam. Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam overthrew Emperor and declared himself the President of South Vietnam. Vietnam War During the Vietnam War, pro-northern started a guerrilla campaign against Diệm and his government. Diệm attempted to subvert political opposition and ordered the execution of tens of thousands citizens. In 1963, Buddhists against the Diệm regime which openly repressed Buddhism and favored the Catholic minority heavily. support for Diệm deteriorated as Diệm increased his policies. In 1963, the the Diệm government and the president. General seized power and declared himself the interim president of South Vietnam. He promised to reverse the policies of Diệm, make peace between the Buddhists and Catholics, liberalize free speech, and combat the Viet Cong. He and maintained power and stabilized the political situation in South Vietnam, allowing them to focus on the war. For ten years with the support of the Americans, the South Vietnamese government fought intensively to maintain control over its territory. Its initial hope of retaking North Vietnam was abandoned during the course of war as conflict stagnated and casualties piled high on both sides. With war wariness growing in the United States, South Vietnam was on the verge of losing but after the failed North Vietnamese , victory was ascertained for South Vietnam with the dissolution of the Viet Cong. The ended the conflict effectively in 1972. The Accords declared a permanent ceasefire between the states of North and South Vietnam through the Vietnamese Armistice and subsequently, the League of Nations recognized both countries as independent, sovereign states. Post-war The first South Vietnamese president following the war was , who served as prime minister and major general of the military. Kỳ was seen as an ineffectual leader who neglected the Vietnamese public in favor of securing a comfortable life at his palace. Seen as a womanizer and "flamboyant", Kỳ was finally deposed in 1974 by his vice president, Lê Thị Kim Ngân who had the support from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Under her leadership, Thị brought new administrative reform to the government and promoted an that would project South Vietnam out of poverty and into international political legitimacy. Thị envisioned a South Vietnam that would counter the communist regime and believed in fostering a much closer relationship with the United States. Geography, climate, and environment Demographics Population Language Religion Government and politics South Vietnam is divided into three branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. A state, there are three levels of government: the federal level, the state level, and the local level all with overlapping responsibilities and functions. Each state government has its own executive, legislature, and judiciary courts. Modeled after the American , South Vietnam's government has been described as a since the 1990s following administrative and constitutional changes. The head of and is the President who is elected to a six-year term. The South Vietnam functions as the nation's legislature and is responsible for the creation and revision of law. The upper house is the Senate while the lower house is the House of Representatives. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial court in the country and is the final . The current Constitution of the Republic of Vietnam has been revised several times since its promulgation with its most recent one in 1987. Political divisions Military Crime and law enforcement Economy Infrastructure Transportation Energy Education Health Culture Cinema Music Literature Sports Public holidays and celebrations Symbols See also *Altverse • |Southeast = • |South = • |Southwest = • |West = • |Northwest = • }} Category:JustinVuong Category:Altverse Category:South Vietnam